The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

The little terrier from the sublimely surreal Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug (2007) has moved to board books, a format well-suited to his colorful, graphic simplicity. Here Bow-Wow tugs a “Red!” sock off a human foot, revealing an “Orange!” one and so on to “Purple!” and, finally, naked tootsies: “Lick!” In each spread, the left-hand image depicts Bow-Wow beginning to pull the sock, the right-hand image showing the sock mostly pulled off with the next-colored sock beneath it and a quizzical expression on Bow-Wow’s face. Simple enough for babies to work on the concept, weird enough to appeal to parental readers again and again. Companion Bow-Wow 12 Months Running (ISBN: 978-0-15-206558-4) is a little on the complex side for the baby half of the audience. (6-18 mos.)

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